


Cuddles and Conversations

by Tavriel



Category: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - Holly Black
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 17:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18265583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tavriel/pseuds/Tavriel
Summary: Tana and Gavriel cuddle and have a conversation. Post canon. Light-hearted and not to be taken too seriously.





	Cuddles and Conversations

First time writing fanfiction in years, so I'm rusty. I apologize for any OOCness. I'm just going to go with the headcanon that Tana beat going Cold, is still trapped in Coldtown, and has secured some sort of squat with Gavriel. This is just a little light-hearted piece.

 

Surprisingly enough, the thing that shocked Tana about Gavriel wasn't his murder moods, his penchant for quoting Shakespeare, or his penchant for quoting Shakespeare while in his murder moods. She'd more or less gotten used to those. And since they'd taken to hunting vampires, quoting Shakespeare and murder moods had become commonplace. No, the most shocking thing about him was that he was a cuddler.

 

It was odd that Tana would ever associate the word cuddler with the Thorn of Istra and the Spider, but there was no other word for it. In public the most Gavriel would do was kiss her hand. But in private, it was a different story. Gavriel constantly touched her. There was the aforementioned hand kissing, but in addition to that Gavriel was constantly kissing her forehead, stroking her hair, or draping himself over her like a cat and butting her hand until she stroked his hair. The funny thing was that most of these touches never lead to anything more. Gavriel seemed perfectly content to just stroke Tana's hair or rub her feet without it leading to sex.

 

Truthfully, Tana never minded. It was nice to be touched so gently. When Gavriel touched her, there was always this slight hesitance before he did it, as though he expected her to pull away. He would move slowly, as if he was giving Tana ample time to pull away. And when he touched her he would always have this look on his face like he couldn't believe it. There was something hilarious in the fact that people had this image of Gavriel as a bloodthirsty vampire (and on occasion it was true) but right now Tana had her head in his lap while he stroked her hair and he didn't look dangerous at all.

 

Tana allowed her body to relax as Gavriel's nails scratched lightly at her scalp. After waking up with all her classmates dead, embarking on a deadly road trip, and fighting vampires, there never seemed like there was a moment where Tana was able to rest. Even when she attempted to get some sleep, some worry was always at the forefront of her mind, whether it was the possibility of going Cold or her nightmares waiting to ambush her. But now she was safe . For now, a voice said in her head. Living in Coldtown meant there was always the chance of danger and it was impossible to completely relax. Although Tana was beginning to realize that she could get used to the danger, like when she stopped noticing an unpleasant smell in a room.

 

As Tana drifted in the pleasant state of half-asleep and half-awake, a thought occurred to her. “Gavriel?” she said softly. He hummed in acknowledgment. “You didn't need saving at all, did you?” she continued.

 

Gavriel's hands stilled in Tana's hair. “What do you mean?” Tana nudged Gavriel's hand and waited until he resumed playing with her hair before continuing.

 

  “I mean when we first met and I asked you if you needed saving, remember?” Even as she mentioned it, a shudder of fear ran through Tana. Weeks later she would still see her slaughtered classmates when she closed her eyes. Her heart would start thudding and her breathing would quicken and she would have to remind herself that she was safe, that she had escaped, even as her mind played scenarios of what could have happened if she hadn't escaped or if the vampires had opened a bathroom door.

 

  She hadn't really had time to think about how she first met Gavriel, and for the most part she didn't like to think of the party. But the thought had occurred to her and she couldn't help but voice it. “You didn't technically need saving, did you?” Tana continued. “You were being taken to Lucien anyway. So there really wasn't any reason for you to come with us. So why did you?”

 

Tana briefly wondered why she was asking this. Gavriel had outright said to Lucien that he went with her and Aidan because he wanted to see what would happen. Tana hadn't questioned it since she was preoccupied at the time. But now she began to wonder had been telling the truth or not. It wasn't that she thought Gavriel was a liar, it was just that his logic tended to be a little out there. It was idle curiosity that drove her to ask, like when she and Pauline played “Would you rather?”

 

  Gavriel's voice was matter of fact. “I was bored.” At Tana's look, Gavriel continued. “I've said it before-tedium is the worst enemy of vampires. We all have our ways to amuse ourselves.” Tana let that sink in. It did make sense that vampires were more prone to boredom. Vampirism had always seemed like a non stop glamorous party. But Tana remembered being bored during summer vacation when the weeks had stretched out endlessly before her and the thrill of being on vacation wore off. Then she couldn't wait to get back to school. Then she'd get back to school and wonder why she ever thought going back to school would be a good thing. She supposed it made sense for vampires to get bored when eternity stretched out before them.

 

  “Okay, I get being bored, but your way to alleviate boredom is to go on a road trip with two teenagers you'd just met? And Lucien's idea was to change people who looked like your siblings to see your reaction? Can't you guys just read a book or take up knitting? Or maybe binge watch a show? Wait, do you know what binge-watching is?”

 

   Tana only said the last sentence just so she could see Gavriel's face because his expressions when people acted like he was unaware of the modern world were kind of cute. He gave her a look that was half-amused and half annoyed. He huffed. “Tana, I'm aware of modern trends,” he said dryly. “With Lucien it was impossible not to be.”

 

  “I can't believe you actually decided to go on a road trip with a bunch of strangers. It's kind of like the horror movies where the teenagers decide to go to someone's house when they just met them.” Tana's brow furrowed as she thought that over. “No wait, if we're talking horror movies I suppose I would be the person who picked up a crazy hitchhiker.”

 

  Gavriel laughed. “But if the protagonists in horror movies are picking up the hitchhiker, the horror hasn't occurred. Is that really the most accurate comparison?” Gavriel had a point. Tana had seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre and that movie didn't begin with everyone dead. Or maybe it did. She couldn't really remember. She just remembered the main characters picking up a hitchhiker and gory death scenes.

 

  “Post apocalyptic world where two survivors band together then,” she amended.

 

Gavriel planted a kiss on Tana's forehead. “I did have an additional motive aside from boredom,” Gavriel admitted after a pause.

 

“Oh, really? And what's that?” Tana asked.

 

“I was intrigued by you,” Gavriel said. Even though Gavriel had already told her he loved her, Tana still felt weird hearing him blatantly compliment her like this.

 

“Oh really?” she meant to make her voice sound a bit sarcastic and playful, but instead it wavered.

 

 “Yes.” Gavriel paused and Tana could feel the air change around them. She sat up so she could look into Gavriel's face better. She wanted to say something, but waited for Gavriel to gather his thoughts. Gavriel continued. He spoke slowly and deliberately. “I told you before, I prayed to be saved many times, but no one ever saved me.” His voice became even more tender. “Until you.” Tana remembered Gavriel telling her this when she was chained to a bed. She thought she'd be able to hear things like this when she wasn't vulnerable and strapped to a bed, but she was wrong. Part of her wanted to shy away from what Gavriel was saying, but another part wanted him to speak some more.

 

 “So...” Tana spoke to fill the silence, even though she wasn't sure if she wanted Gavriel to continue.

 

She remembered the eighty-eight days of being chained up. She remembered screaming until she could barely talk, vomiting, thrashing against her chains until her wrists bled, and being unsure of what was a fever dream and what was reality. She remembered eventually not caring about anything but the need to have blood and the feeling that she would die without it. Gavriel had been with her through it all. He was the one who held her during her fits, the one who held her hair back when she vomited. Gavriel read to her in her lucid moments. She remembered crying, screaming, and promising Gavriel all manner of things if he would just let her out. Gavriel never did, no matter how many times she raged at him. The thought that Gavriel might have to go through something like that and worse for ten years alone and without anyone to comfort him made her heart clench. Tana was suddenly fiercely glad she'd unchained Gavriel.

 

 “So you came in,” Gavriel continued. “And you asked me if I needed saving. You didn't know me. You owed me nothing. But you were still willing to save someone you just met merely because I needed saving. And that intrigued me. I wanted to get to know a girl who would be willing to unchain a vampire merely because it was the right thing to do.” As he spoke, he had cupped her face in his hand so he could look into her eyes the way she had done for him when she told him he wasn't a monster. His thumb brushed back and forth across her cheek as he stared at her intently. Gavriel's stare sent shivers down her spine.

 

 “I also thought you were cute.” Gavriel said it so bluntly that Tana let out a huff of laughter.

 

“Seriously?”

 

  Gavriel nodded, grinning. “I have eyes.” Tana loved when he smiled. His entire demeanor would change. He would suddenly appear to be more light-hearted and it would strike Tana that Gavriel was only physically a few years older than her. And after all he'd been through, he deserved to smile.

 

  “You just met me and you thought I was cute, so you decided to go on a road trip? That's basically a decision that gets people killed in horror movies!”

 

 Gavriel rolled his eyes. “Tana, I don't know where you got your preoccupation with horror movies, but I assure you I was capable of defending myself against two teenagers.”

 

  “I think my horror movie comparisons started when I realized I might be the final girl in a horror film. Or at least the one who kills the monster. And as for being able to defend yourself, I'm more dangerous than daybreak, don't forget.”

 

  Gavriel laughed and kissed Tana's forehead. “Yes, you are. But despite the risk to my life, I think my decision to go on a road trip with you was one of the better ones I've made. And I might not have been in any danger when we first met, but you did save me in all the ways that mattered.”

 

  Tana felt a warm glow in her chest. “And I suppose my unchaining you was a good decision. Now that I think about it, you deciding to go on a road trip with two teenagers isn't the craziest thing you've done.” They lapsed into a comfortable silence.

 

   Another thought occurred to Tana. “You know,” she said, her voice turning mischievous, “when you borrowed my car, you did promise to repay me.” She leaned closer, until their lips were mere inches apart.

 

   Gavriel's voice was wicked. “Then let me repay you.” Tana suddenly found herself pinned underneath him. There was nothing gentle in the way he kissed her now, and Tana kissed back just as fiercely.


End file.
